[Updated] Want to turn off Google Chrome’s Reading List? here’s how

Here is the node of the article in video form:

New updates are added at the bottom of this story …….

The original story (published March 16, 2021) follows:

The latest iteration of the Google Chrome browser carries a version number of 89 and was merged into the stable branch earlier this month. The update brings several new features.

For the uninitiated, the profiles module has received a big overhaul with the update where each user can now customize their profile with a custom background and play with various themes and color schemes.

The update also implements support for WebHID, which is basically an API that allows web applications to interact with human interface (HID) devices such as VR controls, gamepads, and gamepads. game.

And last but not least is Google Chrome’s new Reading List feature which allows users to save things they find useful to read for later or maybe just for archival purposes.

Previously, people relied on third-party plugins like Pocket for the same purpose, but now it’s great to see Chrome has its own built-in feature.

However, to add items to Chrome’s Reading List, just tap the star icon in the address bar and then select “Add to Reading List.”

These saved sites can then be easily accessed from the far left of Chrome’s bookmarks bar, as shown in the image above.

This implementation, however, did not go well with everyone. Many now complain that the Playlist option is consuming too much space in the bookmarks bar – space that could otherwise be used to keep additional bookmarks in view.

Therefore, some users have been looking for a way to hide it completely.

So this “Reading List” just appeared near my bookmarks and it’s taking up too much space that I need for my bookmarks. I wonder how can I get rid of it.
Source

How to hide – Bookmark playlist. It bothered me, appearing out of nowhere today.
Source

Lucky for you, we’ve managed to get our hands on a simple solution.

You may know that Google Chrome gives users great control over its functionality through flags. And while most of the underlying stuff can be experimental, it ends up serving quite well for those looking for a way to customize Chrome beyond what it allows on its front end.

This feature will now help us remove the playlist from the bookmarks bar on Google Chrome by disabling it entirely. Just follow the steps below for immediate results:

NOTE: If you want to know more about the Google Chrome Reading List on Android, go here.

1. Enter chrome: // flags / # read-later in the address bar and press the Enter key.
2. Select “Off” from the drop-down list next to the Playlist option.
3. Restart Chrome.

Of course, the above series of steps are totally valid on any desktop operating system – be it macOS, Windows, or Linux.

Pretty simple isn’t it? Hope the workaround did the job for you. If so, be sure to let us know in the comments below.

Update 1 (March 17)

It should be noted that, as is typically the case with staged deployments, the playlist functionality may not be available to everyone (as it has just started to deploy). The only way to get rid of it at the moment is the one we described above.

However, if you don’t want to go that route, but Google revokes the feature instead, be aware that a rollback will only happen when many users send negative feedback about the feature to the company. So the best you can do is send your opinions back to the company.

Take a look at what a product expert in the community recently said about it:

It’s not in my environment
I think it’s probably applied sequentially or in the form of “distributed as a test to a small number of people”

As is often the case with Google, if you want to apply it to everyone at once
We can pre-apply to 5% or 10% of users to see the reaction in advance.
Eventually it will be applied to all
I think it will be removed a few times if it is a fatal flaw or great unpopularity.
(Aren’t there a lot of visible withdrawals?)

I think it is good to send “Jamada” as an opinion
I think it’s good to send comments and say, “I’m clogging up the playlist more and more. I want to get rid of it.

Update 2 (March 18)

For those of you naive, metrics appear under Experiences until a feature is part of the stable update and is imposed on all devices. This is why sharing your feedback while the feature is still being tested becomes all the more important.

So if you don’t like the playlist feature and don’t want to get stuck with it forever, be sure to share your opinion with the developers. Take a look at how a product expert in the community explained this:

I would also recommend that if you don’t like the feature, send your review to the Chrome team on what aspect you don’t like or why you don’t like it:

Report a bug or comment on Chrome – Google Chrome help

It is very important that you do this, as these comments will be received directly by the Chrome team (they usually do not go through the forums in Spanish). Also, this is important because if this feature is set to the stable version for everyone, the flag will eventually be removed and there will be no way to turn off the option.

Here is an example of experience feedback given by the expert:

For example, what I don’t like is the fact that when I click on the bookmarks star it asks me if I want to save it as a bookmark or if I want to save it in the list reading: I would prefer the dialog that appears, with an option to save it to the playlist.

Update 3 (March 19)

We are conducting a survey to find out whether or not people like the Reading List feature. Then share with us your opinion by voting below:

It’s poll time!

Google Chrome Reading List Functionality: Yes or No?

Vote below and read our coverage here: https://t.co/fw0Q4ueiCr#Google #Google Chrome #Reading list #Android #feature #survey

– PiunikaWeb (@PiunikaWeb) March 17, 2021

Update 4 (March 20)

One of the readers in the comments section shared that for some reason the “# read-later” flag was not working for them. Changing it to “# read-list” did the trick for them. So just in case you are faced with the problem, try it this way.

Update 5 (March 21)

It seems that more and more users are turning to the community to share their thoughts on the playlist feature. Sharing the same workaround (as we did in this article) to disable the feature, a product expert from the Chrome community recently said:

While many are thrilled with the “ reading list ” on Chrome, not everyone wants to keep it.
Essentially, this is Google’s answer to the Collections feature on Microsoft Edge.

To note: Here are some of our other articles in this series:

PiunikaWeb started off solely as a technological investigative journalism website with a primary focus on “breakthrough” or “exclusive” news. In no time at all, our stories were picked up by Forbes, Fox News, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, MacRumors and many more. Would you like to know more about us? Go here.